Clockers (film)

Clockers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Spike Lee
Produced by	Martin Scorsese Spike Lee Jon Kilik
Screenplay by	Richard Price Spike Lee
Based on	Clockers  by Richard Price
Starring	Harvey Keitel John Turturro Delroy Lindo Mekhi Phifer Isaiah Washington Keith David Pee Wee Love
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Cinematography	Malik Hassan Sayeed
Edited by	Sam Pollard
Production company	40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	September 13, 1995
Running time	128 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000 (est.)
Box office	$13,071,518

Clockers is a 1995 American crime drama film directed by Spike Lee. It is an adaptation of the eponymous 1992 novel by Richard Price, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lee. The film stars Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, and Mekhi Phifer in his debut film role. Set in New York City, Clockers tells the story of Strike (Phifer), a street-level drug dealer who becomes entangled in a murder investigation.

Plot summary

In a Brooklyn housing project, a group of "clockers" - street-level drug dealers - sell drugs for Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), a local drug lord. Rodney tells Ronald "Strike" Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), one of his lead clockers, that another dealer, Darryl Adams (Steve White), is stealing from him and "got to be got", implying that he wants Strike to kill Darryl. Strike then meets with his brother, Victor Dunham (Isaiah Washington) and tries to persuade Victor to kill Darryl Adams.

Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) and Larry Mazilli (John Turturro), homicide detectives, ride to the scene of Darryl Adams' murder. Larry and Rocco receive a phone call from another detective who says a man has confessed at a local church that he killed Darryl. The police meet Strike's older brother Victor at the church and take him in for questioning. In the interrogation room, Victor tells Rocco that he shot Darryl Adams in self-defense. Rocco finds holes in this story and starts looking into Victor's background which includes two jobs, a wife, two children, no criminal record, and aspirations to move out of the projects; Rocco comes to the conclusion that Victor is covering for his younger brother.

Rocco pressures Strike but Victor sticks to his story, so Rocco convinces Rodney that Strike has confessed and informed on Rodney's drug ring. Rocco arrests Rodney and then implicates Strike in front of his crew. Strike gets together some money and decides to leave town, but a younger boy who admired Strike shoots Errol, Rodney's enforcer, with Strike's gun. Later the young boy is taken into custody and confesses that he got the gun from Strike. Rocco forces Strike leave town by threatening to arrest him if he's seen again and let Rodney get him and say he will make sure Rodney and Strike share a cell and a bed in prison

Cast

• Harvey Keitel — Det. Rocco Klein
• John Turturro — Det. Larry Mazilli
• Delroy Lindo — Rodney Little
• Mekhi Phifer — Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
• Isaiah Washington — Victor Dunham
• Keith David — André the Giant
• Pee Wee Love — Tyrone 'Shorty' Jeeter
• Sticky Fingaz — Scientific
• Regina Taylor — Iris Jeeter
• Fredro — Go
• Elvis Nolasco — Horace
• Tom Byrd — Errol Barnes
• Lawrence B. Adisa — Stan
• Hassan Johnson — Skills
• Frances Foster — Gloria
• Michael Imperioli — Detective Jo-Jo
• Mike Starr — Thumper
• Lisa Arrindell Anderson — Sharon Dunham
• Paul Calderon — Jesus
• Brendan Kelly — Big Chief
• Graham Brown — Herman Brown
• Steve White — Darryl Adams
• Spike Lee — Chucky
• Harry Lennix — Bill Walker
• Michael Badalucco — Cop #1
• Ricky Aiello — Cop #2

Conception and adaptation

David Denby of New York magazine said that while the original novel was "filled with operational detail" the film adaptation was "more emotional" and "less factual".^[1] Denby further explained that Spike Lee, the film director, was "concerned less with Strike's spiritual condition than with the survival of the entire community."^[1]

Denby said that Lee, in the work, "jumps around a lot, telling his story in hot flashes" as typical in Spike Lee films, arguing that the technique makes the film "difficult to follow".^[1] In regards to the cinematography of Malik Sayeed, Denby said that it was "rough and dark-hued, with an almost tabloid angriness in the scenes of violence."^[1]

Film poster

Critics and film buffs were quick to notice that the poster, designed by Art Sims, was similar to Saul Bass' art for Otto Preminger's 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder. Sims claimed that it was a homage, but Bass regarded it as a rip-off.^[2]

Reception

Critical response

The film received generally positive reviews. Roger Ebert gave the movie three-and-a-half stars,^[3] and the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes records that 67% of reviewers viewed it positively.^[4]

Box office

The movie had a poor opening at the box office.^[5]

Soundtrack

1. "People in Search of a Life" - Marc Dorsey
2. "Love Me Still" - Chaka Khan
3. "Silent Hero" - Des'ree
4. "Bird of Freedom" - Seal
5. "Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers" - The Crooklyn Dodgers
6. "Bad Boy No Go a Jail" - Mega Banton
7. "Blast of the Iron" - Rebelz of Authority
8. "Reality Check" - Buckshot Lefonque
9. "Illa Killa" - Strictly Difficult
10. "Sex Soldier" - Rebelz of Authority
11. "Reality" - Brooklynites
12. "Changes" - Marc Dorsey

References

• Denby, David. "Hard Time." ("Movies" section) New York (magazine). September 18, 1995. New York Media, LLC. Vol. 28, No. 37. ISSN 0028-7369. p. 72-73.

Notes

External links

• Clockers at the Internet Movie Database
• Clockers at Rotten Tomatoes